I bought a pressure washer with a 7 hp subaru engine about 2 weeks ago. The first time it shut down for about ten minutes and then ran fine the rest of the day.

Now today I turned it off. Switched wands and it wouldnt fire back up. I went through all the normal checks, air, oil, spark plug which happens to be buried in between to parts. Thought to myself maybe its hot. Ill go eat lunch. I come back and the ****er wont start. I take the spark plug out again and pull the pull cord a bunch of times to fix flooding but it doesnt work.

Now Im getting pissed. I do notice if I leave the fuel on for a few minutes that it will drip out. So I take the bowl off and drain it. It looks mighty clean in there. Turn the fuel back on and get it started after 3-4 pulls. It runs for the next 2-3 hours.

For some reason its flooding when I turn it off and move to go to the next spot. I never had this problem with my honda pressure washer or mowers. I use to forget to shut the fuel off and drive around with those. I even shut the fuel off a few minuted before I turn the switch off for preventive measures now. The thing is it ran a good 5 mins with fuel off. The fuel pet**** does work because it stopped the flow when I drained it.

So I'm assuming this is a float problem. I dont see how when its only been used for 11 hours. I dont know if this is a flaw or what.

I was just curious if anyone has any experiences with these engines.

Look at my guy working hard with a chipped bone in his elbow while I take pictures. I love being the boss!
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/469366_10151054746129544_100669450_o.jpg

willshome

07-19-2012, 09:53 PM

So I'm assuming this is a float problem.

sounds like the seal "o-ring" on the float needle inlet

wandfsmall

07-20-2012, 08:07 AM

it could be a bad float, the needle or the seat. hard to tell without looking at it. You need to clean it preferably with an ultrasonic cleaner, and make sure the float does not have water in it.

The Cleaning Doctor

07-20-2012, 10:37 AM

I see a couple of things right away that are wrong..

1. The size of your pressure washer is wasting a lot of time for you. In order to clean a house quickly you need at a minimum 4 gallons per minute. With the one I had I could clean that house with nothing more than a step ladder. You can clean a 2 story house without a ladder unless it is constructed like that one then you just need to get over the eaves.

2. Being on a roof like that there needs to be some safety gear to prevent falls. Hence the bigger pressure washer.

3. The ladder set up is incorrect. The ladder needs to extend a minimum of 3 feet above the edge of the roof. Move your stand off down lower to accomplish this.

#2 and 3 will get you in trouble with OSHA or similar state agency.

SECTLANDSCAPING

07-20-2012, 12:04 PM

I see a couple of things right away that are wrong..

1. The size of your pressure washer is wasting a lot of time for you. In order to clean a house quickly you need at a minimum 4 gallons per minute. With the one I had I could clean that house with nothing more than a step ladder. You can clean a 2 story house without a ladder unless it is constructed like that one then you just need to get over the eaves.

2. Being on a roof like that there needs to be some safety gear to prevent falls. Hence the bigger pressure washer.

3. The ladder set up is incorrect. The ladder needs to extend a minimum of 3 feet above the edge of the roof. Move your stand off down lower to accomplish this.

#2 and 3 will get you in trouble with OSHA or similar state agency.

The 3gpm works fine for houses. Even the rental places wont recommend more then that unless your cleaning 3 story homes. Besides that we only need the pressure for spots. I can clean most of the house with a pump sprayer and a garden hose.

We only need the ladder for the area above the roof and the back of the house was 3 stories.

The ladder is 18 ft and the roof was 10 ft. Theres no way to put that at the correct pitch with out it going through that window.

Not worried about OSHA. That guy was up there for 5 minutes to hit what we couldnt get from the ground with the wand.

heres the back of the house. We have a 18 ft wand but thats not going to get 40 ft up.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/409626_10151054741049544_1601863210_n.jpg

willshome

07-20-2012, 05:41 PM

You can clean a 2 story house without a ladder unless it is constructed like that one then you just need to get over the eaves.

You know spraying up can burn a house down. Siding is not water tight going up and if you get the wiring in the wall wet it can cause a fire. This will not happen every time but it can.

SECTLANDSCAPING

07-20-2012, 06:02 PM

You know spraying up can burn a house down. Siding is not water tight going up and if you get the wiring in the wall wet it can cause a fire. This will not happen every time but it can.
Not to mention water damage.

thats the reason most extension wands are angled and flex when extended. This keeps the stream of water from going under the siding.
http://www.interchangeablecomponents.com/Virginia-/Machinery-/Industrial-/Coleman-pressure-washer-angled-extension-wand-PA0650112-displaypic.jpg

Steve

07-23-2012, 12:02 PM

The size of your pressure washer is wasting a lot of time for you. In order to clean a house quickly you need at a minimum 4 gallons per minute. With the one I had I could clean that house with nothing more than a step ladder. You can clean a 2 story house without a ladder unless it is constructed like that one then you just need to get over the eaves.

Is that because there is more pressure to reach the higher up spots or does the pressure have nothing to do with the gallons per minute?